Sandesh Jhingan, born on 21 July 1993, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for the Indian Super League club Goa and the India national team. He won the AIFF Emerging Player of the Year award in 2014, made his India debut in 2015, received the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting honour, in 2020, and was named the AIFF Men’s Player of the Year for 2020–21.
He was born in Chandigarh and trained at the St Stephen’s Academy, which he helped reach the South-East Asian finals of the Manchester United Premier Cup. He also played for the Chandigarh state team at under-19 level, helping them win the B. C. Roy Trophy. After strong performances he received a call-up for trials at the I-League 2 side United Sikkim in November 2011, signed with the club the next month and played alongside the former India internationals Bhaichung Bhutia and Renedy Singh, helping United Sikkim earn promotion to the I-League after the 2012 season.
In a June 2020 interview he said that he had been rejected by many second- and third-division clubs in Kolkata at the start of his career. He made his senior professional debut on 6 October 2012 in United Sikkim’s first I-League match against Salgaocar, started and lasted the full ninety minutes and scored the winning goal in a 3–2 win. His second came on 18 November 2012 against Sporting Goa in a 2–1 loss. United Sikkim were relegated and conceded a league-high 63 goals, but Jhingan stood out. In 2013 there was reported interest from Chinese League One clubs, but selection for the national squad meant he could not attend trials, and he also turned down an offer from Dempo.
He signed for Mumbai for the rest of the 2013–14 I-League season and made his debut for the club on 7 December 2013 against Pune in a 2–1 win. On 22 July 2014, a day after his 21st birthday, he was picked in the second round of the 2014 ISL domestic draft by Kerala Blasters. He started the club’s second match, against Chennaiyin, which they lost 2–1, and remained a regular through the 2014 season with 14 appearances, which earned him the “Emerging Player of the League” award. He started the 2014 ISL final against Atletico de Kolkata, which the Blasters lost 1–0.
In February 2015 he joined Sporting Goa on loan for the 2014–15 I-League and debuted against Mumbai in a 0–0 draw. The Blasters retained him for 2015 and he became the highest-paid Indian player in the league, earning more than Rs 10 million, but the team conceded a league-worst 27 goals and finished last despite having the former Spanish international Carlos Marchena and the former Newcastle defender Peter Ramage alongside him. In March 2016 he joined DSK Shivajians on loan and made his debut on 6 March against East Bengal in a 2–0 win.
He was retained again for the 2016 season, when he played mostly at right-back and helped the Blasters reach their second ISL final in three seasons. In January 2017 he went on loan to Bengaluru. He now plays for Goa.
For India he made his senior debut in 2015 and has been a regular in defence. The Arjuna Award in 2020 and the AIFF Men’s Player of the Year award for 2020–21 reflect that. His career, from being turned down by clubs in Kolkata to leading the Indian defence, shows how many Indian players came up through lower-division clubs and academies.
Featured image: India and Bangladesh players in action at the 12th South Asian Games, Guwahati, February 2016 (file photo; a match photo, not a portrait of Sandesh Jhingan). Photo by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
